


add a pinch of love, for flavor

by JintoBeans



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Chef Donghyuck, Cooking Lessons, Flirting, Getting Together, Lawyer Mark Lee, M/M, Minor Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Sexual Tension, Strangers to Lovers, Yes Donghyuck will stand behind Mark and teach him to flip eggs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28037931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JintoBeans/pseuds/JintoBeans
Summary: When Donghyuck designs new dishes, he doesn't make any assumptions about what ingredients or flavors pair well. If his restaurant’s two Michelin star rating is anything to go by, unconventionality works.He’s beginning to realize this philosophy might apply to humans too, namely, his relationship with one painfully uptight, BigLaw lawyer named Mark Lee.Alternatively, an AU where Mark is a good lawyer but a bad cook, Donghyuck is a rising star in NYC’s culinary scene, and Jaemin somehow ropes them into three months of cooking lessons together. If they don't kill each other first, they might just fall in love.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 12
Kudos: 42





	add a pinch of love, for flavor

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wasn't going to juggle multiple fics, but the idea of Markhyuck cooking lessons grabbed me by the metaphorical balls and would not let me go.  
> I hope you enjoy! This is unbeta'd, so please forgive any grammar errors.

“Ever heard the saying that revenge is a dish best served cold? Well, emphasis on the _dish_ part. Dude, Yeri will _never_ recover if you beat her signature red velvet cake at the firm’s holiday party.”

Mark completes his set of bicep curls before turning to Jaemin with a raised brow. You’d think that Jaemin was Yeri’s ex given how disdainfully he speaks of her.

“Jaemin, I’ve told you multiple times already that the breakup was mutual. Yeri and I are chill.”

Jaemin’s expression contorts into one that someone might make after accidentally stepping in shit. “Sure, sure, but she started dating Tappy Tommy from floor four not even _two weeks_ after you guys ended. That’s pretty fucked, and I’m not about to let that slide.”

Mark shrugs. Thomas, who Jaemin disrespectfully calls Tommy behind his back, recently made partner at their ridiculously competitive law firm. If you overlook the fact that Thomas is nearly 25 years Yeri’s senior, he’s quite the catch. When Mark walked in on them making out in a storage room, he felt nothing but mild respect for Yeri. What that says about him and his 3-year relationship with her, he doesn’t want to know.

Mark goes back to his bicep curls, counting steadily to himself. One, two, three…

“It didn’t bother me.”

Jaemin huffs loudly and starts his own set of leg presses. “Mark, you’re _never_ bothered. If I didn’t know how ruthless you can be at work, I’d think you were a pushover.”

While Mark appreciates how defensive Jaemin gets on his behalf, it’s completely unnecessary.

“Yeah, well sorry I don’t waste my time and effort on petty revenge schemes. I’m too busy winning cases and making obscene amounts of money.” Mark is shoo-in for the “Associate MVP” award this year, which is given to the associate who contributed the most to firm profits. He certainly didn’t get to where he is by moping and obsessing over his ex.

Jaemin flips him off. “You, Mark Lee, are no fun. Enacting petty revenge schemes is a great way to spend your time.”

“Doubtful. Even if that were true, I already get roped into too many of _your_ ridiculous plans. I don’t need any of my own.”

Jaemin’s ability to rapidly build, dissect, and manage relationships makes him a fantastic lawyer, but it also makes him a bit _too_ good at social manipulation. Even as his best friend, Mark is occasionally disturbed by Jaemin’s capacity to emotionally fuck people up.

“Come on, man! Just imagine the look on her face if she loses to you. Seriously, she’s dissed your admittedly nonexistent cooking skills so many times, she’ll never see it coming.” Jaemin is practically radiating glee at the thought. “That woman is weirdly prideful about her cooking, even when we were in law school. I’ve seen how she smiles when she wins that useless ‘head chef’ award every year—I mean _really_ , you’d think we were a Michelin star restaurant, not a fucking law firm.”

Mark can’t help but laugh. Yeri’s obsession with winning the firm’s “head chef” title was pretty bizarre, especially given that nobody there gives a shit about cooking. Back when they were together, she used to complain that all Mark does is work, so maybe her pride comes from her desire to be more than just a lawyer.

Jaemin grins back before continuing. “Anyways, I’ve been thinking of how to get back at her...”

And yep, this is where Mark stops Jaemin before he gets too deep into his scheming.

“As entertaining as that all sounds, I really couldn’t care less about Yeri anymore," Mark interrupts. 

He ignores Jaemin's responding pout before continuing, "Let’s talk about something else. Any new updates on your barista?”

At the mention of his latest crush, Jaemin stop sulking immediately. His expression morphs into one of boyish excitement, and Mark breathes an internal sigh of relief.

“Oh man, this morning I made sure to pop two extra shirt buttons, and you should’ve seen the way he ogled my collar bones. He was so fucking red. Then I said, ‘Jeno Lee, you look _hot_ ,’ and he started choking! Of course, I pretended like I was talking about the temperature, all _poor baby you’re so flushed, they need better temp control in here_ , and he looked so embarrassed. He was so cute, you have no idea. The things I would do to that sweet, sweet man. And oh my god, let me tell you about what happened on Friday...”

Jaemin is a great story teller, and Mark lets his worries fade away as he listens to Jaemin prattle on about his crush. Mark has been meaning to stop by the aesthetic coffeeshop where Jeno works to see firsthand what kind of man has caught the infamously unavailable Na Jaemin's attention. His best friend might be a serial flirt and unintentionally cruel heartbreaker at times, but Mark can tell from Jaemin's words and behavior that he's really into the barista. As Jaemin continues his story, Mark can't help but smile at the note of genuine affection in his voice. 

By the end of their workout, Mark is satisfied: he had a great workout, got to hear his best friend be cute about a boy, and he's convinced this is the last he’ll hear of any silly plots against his ex.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mark is swamped with enough work that he forgets about their gym conversation, so he’s bewildered when a week later, Jaemin marches up to his desk and slams something down in front of him.

“Merry early Christmas!” Jaemin sing-songs, and Mark winces at the noise. It’s late so his floor is largely empty, but Mark does catch their coworker Doyoung shoot them a nasty look from over his cubicle wall.

“Jaemin, it’s mid-October.”

“Aw, Markles. Don’t be like that! Tis’ always the season for gift giving. Take a look at what I got you, champ.” Jaemin nudges a small plastic card towards Mark.

Mark warily picks it up. Upon closer inspection, he discovers that Jaemin’s gift is a voucher for three months of weekly culinary lessons at ‘Fullsun Farms.’ Mark didn’t even know that farms offered cooking lessons, and it takes him a moment to figure out why Jaemin is gifting it to him.

“Is this about that time I accidentally gave everyone food poisoning when I made soft tofu stew for potluck night? I’m really sorry about that…but I agreed to just stick to takeout.”

“Oh damn,” Jaemin exclaims, “I actually completely forgot about that. Shocking, because I thought the taste of puke would never leave my mouth.” Mark cringes in sympathy. All of their friends had some stomach problems that night, but Jaemin’s were especially bad. He had been a great sport about the frankly awful experience, not blaming Mark even once for getting him sick. Even though Mark doesn’t need to cook (their firm caters excellent food), he’d be willing to attend some cooking lessons to repent.

“Huge bonus if you learn to cook something safe for potluck night, but I actually signed you up for lessons so you can learn some _baking_. For example, wink wink nudge nudge, some red velvet cake!” Jaemin waggles his eyebrows. Mark is still really fucking confused and it must show, because Jaemin rolls his eyes in annoyance.

“Oh my god, for someone so smart, you’re also really dense sometimes. I got you private lessons so you can learn to bake and publicly humiliate your ex at our end of the year party!”

Mark gapes at Jaemin. “Dude! I already told you I have no interest in your ridiculous plans. Leave me alone, you vengeful bitch.”

“Well, those private lessons were fuckin expensive and I’ve already paid, so suck it up. The guy hosting them is a chef who’s taking a break from his main gig, and word of mouth is that he’s _excellent_. Nothing but the best for my Markles, of course!” Jaemin has the nerve to pinch Mark’s cheek before continuing. “Also, if you try to regift the voucher, I’m telling your mom you rejected my wonderful gift.”

“Oh come on, that’s unfair!” Mark grumbles angrily.

Not only is his mom a stickler for general manners and gift etiquette, but she dotes on Jaemin. The two of them have been friends since college, and Jaemin would occasionally stay with Mark’s family over school breaks.

“Well, I know Mama Lee raised you right. So what do you say to people when they give you gifts, Markles?”

If looks could kill, Jaemin would be _dead_.

“Fuck off,” Mark responds promptly, and Jaemin chortles in response.

“How rude! You’re lucky I’m such a kind and forgiving friend. First lesson is this weekend and I want an update afterwards. Reminder that I’ve got your mom on speed dial.”

Mark internally fumes as Jaemin laughs at his expression.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Holy _shit_ , he actually agreed to pay that much?” Renjun sounds half horrified, half impressed. Donghyuck has Renjun on speaker while he squats in the dirt and digs up his final harvest of carrots.

“He did,” Donghyuck mutters, wiping his dirty gloves on his jeans. He can hardly believe it himself. “Man didn’t even hesitate.”

Two days ago, a guy named Jaemin had called Donghyuck’s personal phone, asking whether he offered private cooking lessons. While Donghyuck wants to be annoyed that Jeno gave his number away to a rando, he’s heard enough about Jeno’s fat, fat crush on his “godlike” regular to forgive him. Donghyuck himself has done worse while chasing dick.

He doesn’t even regularly offer cooking lessons, and when he does, they’re always for groups of culinary students. Donghyuck didn't want to make Jeno look bad by flat out refusing Jaemin’s request, so he tried tossing out a high price to hopefully deter him. Instead, Jaemin agreed on the spot and immediately began negotiations on the terms for three months of weekly lessons. Frankly, Donghyuck is still unsure whether Jaemin is entirely human: the ease with which he talked Donghyuck into offering private lessons for a newbie was bewildering.

“If I survive the three months of private lessons with a, and I quote, ‘verified kitchen hazard,’ I’m planning to refund half of the money,” Donghyuck says. “I really don’t need it.”

Renjun can confirm, because he manages their restaurant’s publicity and finances. The business is so good, Donghyuck was able to “retire” last year at the tender age of 29. While he loves his work and will eventually return to design new menu items, Donghyuck is currently enjoying a much-needed break from the cutthroat fine dining scene. For the past year, he’s been managing a small farm-to-table café where he grows, cooks, and serves whatever his heart desires.

“Plus,” Donghyuck continues, grunting as his spade hits a buried rock, “this’ll be an excuse for Jeno to play messenger. Maybe he’ll finally muster the guts to ask this Jaemin guy out.”

Renjun groans in agreement. “PLEASE. I might go crazy if I have to keep listening to him go on about this guy’s smile. A few days ago, he literally described it like ‘seeing the Northern lights.’ Lovesick bitch has never even seen the Northern lights.”

Donghyuck wiggles the last carrot free from the soil, shaking away the excess dirt. He’s already thinking about what he can use them for: the café needs some new pastries, so he could make some fresh carrot-based cupcakes. Donghyuck has also been toying with an experimental mashed potato medley that could use some carrots.

Satisfied with his cooking plans for the day, Donghyuck rises from his squat and begins the short trek back to the farmhouse. Freshly fallen leaves crunch underfoot, and the weather is beautifully crisp. Donghyuck laments that the peaceful ambiance is ruined by Renjun’s voice.

“Jeno’s pathetic pining aside,” Renjun continues, “ _Milk Street_ sent us an email yesterday. They want to run a story on your purple kimchi-jjigae. FYI I’ve already agreed, so you need to haul your ass back to the city next Friday for the interview at 2pm. I just added it to your calendar.”

“Wow, thanks for consulting me before you sign my time away. What if I was busy then?”

Renjun snorts at his dramatics. “Bitch, half the time you randomly close your café to fuck around in the kitchen and binge kdramas. I don’t even have to ask if you’re busy. I’ll send you the question prep and details over email once _Milk Street_ has them ready.”

Donghyuck shoulders open the back door to the farmhouse and plops today’s harvest onto the kitchen counter.

“Fine, you caught me. I have nothing planned next Friday,” Donghyuck grins. “Thanks again, Renjun.”

He really is grateful to have a friend and business partner like Renjun. For all of Donghyuck’s culinary creativity and vision, he wouldn’t be where he is without Renjun’s efficiency and organizational skills.

“No problem,” Renjun replies. “I’m going to head out now, but keep me updated on how the private lessons go tomorrow. Jeno said that the guy coming is one of Jaemin’s lawyer friends, which already makes him sound boring as hell. I bet you 5 bucks he shows up in something preppy.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “First off, pot calling the kettle black, much? You’re a successful businessman, Renjun. You both probably spend 50% of your time crunching numbers and squinting at fine print, 40% schmoozing with people you hate, and 10% jacking off because you're both workaholics and lonely as fuck.”

“Yeah, but I’m in a _creative_ industry!” Renjun says indignantly, as if that negates everything Donghyuck just said.

Donghyuck ignores him and continues. “Second, 5 bucks? Come on, man. Even though that’s a sad amount to bet, I’m actually worried I might lose, so no thanks.”

“Boo,” Renjun grumbles, and Donghyuck can picture the stupid pout on his friend’s face. “Fine, well I hope it goes well tomorrow. And make sure to check your email tonight!”

Donghyuck says goodbye and they hang up.

Finally, he can start cooking. After setting his phone to ‘do not disturb’ and putting some kRnB on, Donghyuck rolls up his sleeves and gets to work.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos appreciated.  
> Come find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/JintoBean) if you want to talk about NCT or fic writing! <:.


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